Firefighters worked to extinguish a blaze at the Parish Hall of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Essex on July 6, 2011. Witnesses at the scene reported the building was struck by lightning.

Little was left standing the morning after a blaze at the Parish Hall of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Essex on July 7, 2011. / GLENN RUSSELL/FREE PRESS STAFF

Monsignor John J. McDermott, center left, (with hand raised) delivers blessing for the new $1.5-million center for Holy Family and St. Lawrence Parish in Essex. / Photo by Pat Gore/Vermont Catholic Magazine

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ESSEX — After a 32-month wait, members of the Holy Family and St. Lawrence Catholic Parish have an attractive new space for gatherings..

The two-story post-and-beam community center — with majestic views of Mount Mansfield and Camels Hump — will help meet the needs of more than 1,000 families in the parish.

The center, which officially opened Sunday, will be used for classes, meetings, dinners and receptions.

“It was a long time coming, but worth it. It’s a beautiful building,” said Lloyd Goodrow, a lifelong parish member and resident of Essex Junction.

“I’m a proud and happy pastor,” a beaming Rev. Charles Ranges told about 200 parishioners and community members, who filed inside for a blessing and comments after Sunday’s Mass.

“It was a sad event that brings us here today,” Ranges said before Monsignor John J. McDermott, the Apostolic Administrator of the statewide diocese of Burlington, offered a blessing.

McDermott concelebrated the dedication Mass with the Rev. Michael Cronogue, the Superior General of the Society of St. Edmund.

“We are here today to worship God, and to offer thanks for the blessings received,” McDermott said during his homily at the Mass.

“This building has been erected as a means of gathering the faithful and leading them to the Kingdom of God. It’s purpose is to bring people to Christ, for if it is not for this purpose, or should it not achieve this purpose, it is only a building,” McDermott said.

After the Mass and ribbon-cutting, McDermott and Ranges walked through the center to bless the rooms.

Church members and the greater Essex community were devastated July 6, 2011, when a lightning bolt struck the old parish center, which had just been refurbished. It had hosted countless church suppers, wedding receptions, parties, post-funeral gatherings and more in the state’s second largest community.

Ranges said he remembers the day of the fire clearly. He had just returned to the rectory when a neighbor knocked on the door and noted the center was struck by lightning during a fast-moving storm through the village.

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“I watched the loss of a historic building,” said Ranges, a member of the Society of St. Edmund and the church pastor for about 12 years.

The converted barn had been renovated from top to bottom, including a new roof, new siding and new hardwood floors.

Ranges called the $1.5-million project a “dream come true.”

He noted the capital campaign headed by Dave Rogerson had exceeded the minimum $500,000 goal from parishioners.

“It doesn’t mean you still can’t give,” Ranges told the crowd.

He noted that parishioners have been involved in all phases of the project since the days following the fire.

Religious education classes were shifted to St. Michael’s College. Various local groups, including Cub Scouts, Knights of Columbus and Catholic Daughters, which had called the center its home for some activities, also scrambled to find space.

The handicapped accessible building includes an elevator.

The new center has six classrooms on the first floor. The second floor includes a large fellowship hall with a stone fireplace, a smaller conference room and a larger kitchen.

The 3,900-square-foot building is about 30 percent larger than the former center. It was pushed back on the Lincoln Street lot to provide better views, but primarily to keep the adjacent historic church as the focal point. There are large windows on the second floor with a balcony to allow for views of Vermont’s mountain ranges.

The construction project took extra time to get underway due to business and insurance complications. The church broke ground in April and had hoped to be finished by November, but unexpected delays slowed the project, which got its final state and local inspections in February.

Goodrow said the church and parish center have played important roles for at least three generations in his family. Growing up his family attended Mass at the church and other functions.

“I used to serve at the 6:30 morning Mass as a child. I remember the day of the fire coming home from Camp Johnson and seeing the flames. My son Daniel helped with the ground breaking in April,” he said.

“It was such an incredible and important part of Essex Junction history and heritage. And it was being destroyed,” he said.

“I still can’t believe it. It is amazing — you would have thought the steeple on the church would have been struck,” Goodrow said.

“It is a rebirth for a church community center,” he said. “It is a wonderful celebration of community.”